The Foundling Prince-Outtakes
by AustralianRanger012
Summary: A dumping ground for abandoned ideas, unfinished scenarios, deleted scenes, extra scenes and chapters that simply did not fit into the flow of my main story, The Foundling Prince. Many chapters may not make sense if you haven't read it, and there will also be spoilers for that story.
1. Abandoned and unfinished scene

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's.**

 **For all who are eagerly awaiting an update to The Foundling Prince, it will happen at some point. Right now, I am really busy and the plot bunnies have gone on vacation. However, I do have several outtakes already written, which I have decided to post to tide you over whilst I attempt to finish the main story in between Real Life.**

 **This scene was originally going to be part of chapter 7. It then took an unexpected turn that didn't fit in with the flow of the story. Unlike some chapters that will happen later, this does _not happen_ in the main storyline. Because it was abandoned, it is also unfinished.**

 **Please read the notes at the end of this chapter for more information about how I am going to classify the scenes I will be posting into this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: abandoned and unfinished scene**

 _Legolas is about eight._

Thranduil groaned in pain as his muscles protested moving after spending so long hunched over his desk. Many hours had passed since he'd sat down, and he was finally finished the veritable mountain of paperwork that had demanded his attention. And this was just the important correspondence, all things that were less important were handled by the scribes and secretaries and only required his signature. Thranduil sighed wearily and slumped across his desk, as he wondered how on earth Oropher had managed it.

Sometime later Thranduil stood up, groaning again as all his muscles seemed to protest the movement. Elves might be immortal, but they were not immune to sore muscles, Thranduil thought wryly. Mortals thought the elves immune to these sort of perils. Little did they know.

Thranduil opened the door to his study, intending to go out and get some fresh air. However, on exiting he almost tripped over the elfling who was sitting in front of the door. Legolas was totally engaged in whatever he was doing, but looked up quickly when the door opened.

"Ada!"

The delighted squeal was followed by the elfling leaping up and throwing his arms around his father's legs. The top of his head came up to Thranduil's hips now, as he'd recently had a growth spurt, and Thranduil patted it with a tired smile.

"How long have you been waiting here, _ion nîn_? I thought that you had riding lessons today."

The elfling nodded.

"I did, but they finished hours ago. Lagoron said that you were busy with your king stuff and you had asked not to be disturbed, but I had nothing else to do and I wanted to be near you. That's why I bought my drawings here. That reminds me, I have something for you!"

Legolas dropped to his knees and started sorting through the stack of paper that Thranduil now realised surrounded the place where the elfling had been sitting. The king also noted the pencils that were laying around, and wondering just how long his son had been sitting here. He made a mental note to have a talk with Lagoron later about what he'd told Legolas. The king _had_ told the seneschal he didn't want to be disturbed, that was true, but he meant for anything less than an end-of-the-world scenario or Legolas needing him. No matter what happened, Thranduil wanted to be sure that his son would be able to reach him no matter what happened. It seemed he needed to make that very clear to some people.

"Found it!"

Thranduil smiled as Legolas held out a piece of paper to the king expectantly. His eyes shone with joy and pride, yet Thranduil could also detect a hint of uncertainty in the bright blue orbs. Wondering what caused it, the king graciously accepted the drawing and studied it intently.

It was clearly a picture of Thranduil and Legolas walking along and holding hands, that much was certain. The king was wearing his crown and long robes, while the small figure representing Legolas was clad in green. They were out in the palace gardens somewhere, Thranduil realised with a smile as he studied the remarkably well-drawn flowers and trees. He was about to compliment Legolas on his art when a shadowy figure drawn on the far right caught his eye and he frowned slightly. Squatting down to Legolas's level, the king pointed to the unidentified figure.

"Who is this?"

Legolas did not have to look at the image to know who he was talking about.

"That's my mother. She is in Mandos's care now, but I know she still loves me and watches over me. Sometimes, I fancy that I can hear her voice singing lullabies to me, telling me to stay strong and be a good son so that one day we might see each other again."

Thranduil stared at the elfling in complete and utter shock. Very few times in his life had the Elvenking found himself speechless. This was one of those times. He did not know what to say; all he could do was stare numbly at the shadowy figure in Legolas's drawing. The way it was drawn prevented him from making out any defining details, but the figure was as slender as a willow tree and, seemed to glow with warmth and love as they gazed at the king and prince.

She also bore a strong resemblance to the wood elves. Which would make sense, as Thranduil was sure that Legolas was part Silvan. However, she also bore a strong resemblance to one wood elf in particular. The wood elf Thranduil had once fallen in love with, and conceived a child with. A child who had died before he could be born. The son of a mother who had also died.

Tathardis.

Thranduil whispered the name as he looked numbly at the drawing, and then at Legolas who was busy packing away all his drawing supplies.

 _unfinished_

* * *

 **KEY FOR UNDERSTANDING FUTURE CHAPTER'S:**

 **Abandoned – chapters marked as abandoned did not fit into the main storyline at all, and so are not part of the universe.**

 **Unfinished – pretty self-explanatory, but basically I never got around to finishing it for whatever reason. Normally will be used simultaneously with abandoned chapters. I will finish all deleted scenes.**

 **Deleted Scene – any chapter marked as a deleted scene can be understood to take place in the main story's timeline, unless stated otherwise. This category will also include future scenes I will write after The Foundling Prince is complete.**

 **It's not required, but feedback would be awesome. Who agrees with me that this chapter just does not fit in with the main story?**


	2. Deleted scenes from 'The Elfling Days'

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's.**

 **Thanks goes to CoffeeRanger, Hawaiichick and wswpub for reviewing!**

 **Unbeta-ed, so if you find any spelling mistakes please politely point them out in a review, or send me a PM, and I will endeavour to fix them.**

 **This chapter is deleted. Therefore, the events described in it take place within the timeline of the main story, during 'The Elfling Days'.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2: Deleted scenes from 'The Elfling Days'.**_

 ** _Legolas is quite young in the first part of this chapter, probably equivalent to a human four-year-old. He is probably about ten or eleven years old in human years in the latter part._**

* * *

#1 _Of braided hair and soft toys_

"Hold still my little leaf. We are almost finished."

Legolas sighed heavily but obeyed as Thranduil continued his careful braiding of his small son's hair. The prince did not understand why it had to take so long to get ready. It was much easier and quicker to just tie his hair back and forget about it. But Thranduil had put his foot down early on regarding the prince's hair. The Elvenking took great pride in his personal appearance, and was determined that his son would look presentable at all times. Even when wearing simple clothes, his hair would be braided and neat. Or at least braided. Keeping it neat was an entirely different matter.

Even though actually doing his hair was a task easier said than done. Legolas's hair was very long, especially for an elf his age, reaching three-quarters of the way down his back. Although long hair meant more work, the elfling refused to have it cut. He liked his hair. It was the time spent braiding it that he found tedious.

Thranduil also liked the prince's hair. It was silky and soft, though almost impossible to tame. While its colour was similar to Thranduil's, it was much finer then the king's hair, and had a very different texture. It was very obviously wood elf hair; the king had quickly decided the first time he'd been confronted with taming it.

Thanks to Tathardis, Thranduil was very aware of the differences that existed between the hair textures of Silvan and Sindar elves. Though Tathardis had had quite thick hair for a wood elf, it had still been much finer in texture than Thranduil's. The king knew because he'd spent hours carefully combing it out for her, especially during her last few months of pregnancy when she hadn't felt like doing a lot.

Swiftly steering his thoughts away from that subject, Thranduil finished tying off the last braid and stepped back to admire his work. The style he'd chosen was simple, yet elegant and practical. The prince's hair was braided back from his face and tied behind his head, leaving the bottom part to hang freely yet still stay out of the way.

As soon as Thranduil stepped back, the prince quickly turned around to look at him.

"Are we finished now?"

Thranduil laughed as he scooped his son up and kissed him on the cheek before he settled the little elfling on his hip.

"Yes, we are finished; but why the big hurry, _ion nîn_?"

Legolas gave the king a scandalous expression.

"Don't tell me you have forgotten! Faemes is going to help me make a mate for Mellon today, as he sometimes gets lonely when I can't be with him. Can we go there now Ada?"

Thranduil smiled at his son's enthusiasm and nodded.

"Yes, we can. Have you thought of a name for Mellon's mate yet?"

Legolas shook his head as they left his chambers.

"Not yet. I think that I will wait until I see her before naming her. Nothing I've thought of so far seems to fit."

Thranduil smiled again as they headed towards the sewing rooms.

"I'm sure a suitable name will come to you soon. I am looking forward to meeting Mellon's mate once she is made."

* * *

And, almost four days later, the king was introduced to Lassel. The stuffed toy was slightly shapeless, made of a soft felt-like gold material, though there were obvious legs and a head. But it only looked like an elk if you had a good imagination, though Thranduil admired it nonetheless. Even if it had looked hideous, he would have admired it. One look at how happy Legolas was with what he'd made was enough to stop _anyone_ in the palace from saying anything negative about it.

Legolas's happiness and excitement was infectious. Before long, he had everyone in the palace smiling at him and his new friend as the prince proudly carted Lassel and Mellon around with him. As he'd been indoors for the last four days making the toy, he was also looking very neat and tidy. There was not even a hair out of place, a very rare occurrence. Before long though, the prince went outside and came back with his hair a tangled mess. It needing all Thranduil's patience and skill to tease out the knots that Legolas had somehow managed to put in his hair, and when that happened the king internally sighed.

It had been nice while it lasted. Thranduil knew the prince was very young, but he still hoped that one day he would learn to be more careful with his hair.

* * *

 ** _Lassel – Leaf_**

 ** _For those who don't know, Faemes is Lagoron's wife who appears as a background character in my main story. Mellon is the toy elk that also appears in The Elfling Days chapters._**

* * *

#2 _many years later…_

Thranduil was sitting in his chambers in front of a roaring fire. He was lost in thought, wearing his nightclothes and enjoying a final cup of wine before he went to bed. Therefore, when the soft knock in a very specific pattern came from the hidden door that connected his room with Legolas's, he started slightly. As soon as he'd know Tathardis was pregnant, Thranduil had had a passage made connecting their rooms with the ones that were to be his son's. Some might call it paranoid, but it gave Thranduil security knowing that when he was locked in his rooms his son could still get straight to him if needed.

It might be seen by some as a security risk, but less than a hand-full of elves knew about it. And Thranduil kept it that way. It was far from the only secret passage in the palace after all, and just as practical as the four different escape routes that existed for the royal family to leave the palace in case of an emergency. Never let it be said that Oropher did not cover every angle.

Thranduil got up and opened the door, admitting Legolas into his room. The prince was barefoot, wearing his nightclothes as well, and his hair was released from the unusual braids. His hair. Thranduil just stood there for a moment, looking with horror at his son's hair.

Valar have mercy on them.

What on earth had happened to Legolas's hair?

Seeing his father stare at him in horror, Legolas shifted his feet and blushed bright red before finally looking up at his father with a pleading look.

"Ada, I need your help. My hair refuses to cooperate, no matter what I try to do with it."

Well, that would explain why it currently looked like a family of birds had decided they were going to make a nest in it. Thranduil shuddered as he directed Legolas to sit down in front of the fire before hurrying to find a comb, conditioning oil, and whatever other supplies he thought he would need to make his son look presentable again.

It wasn't long before he was back with what he needed. Standing behind his son, Thranduil began carefully massaging the conditioning oil into his hair to try and tease the knots out before he brushed it. It was a very challenging task, and Thranduil cursed as he worked on untangling the golden strands.

"What on earth did you do to your hair, _ion nîn_? Have you been rubbing tree sap into it or something?"

Legolas sighed and tried to shake his head, but Thranduil immediately stopped him.

"Stay still! I don't want to accidently hurt you because you pulled away unexpectedly. Tell me what happened."

"Do you promise you won't be mad at me?"

Thranduil blinked.

"I seriously doubt you have done something bad enough to make me mad. If you had, I would likely already have heard of it. I just want to know how your hair got into such a mess. When was the last time you brushed it?"

Legolas fiddled with a button on his nightgown before he responded.

"A few days ago I brushed out the ends of it. Gelessil brushed it out for me about a week ago, but she is currently away and I don't know who else to go to. I was afraid of being laughed at, or worse."

Thranduil's eyes were sad.

"Why would you be laughed at, my Little Leaf?"

"Because I am the only elf of my age in the whole forest who can't do at least simple braids in their own hair."

Thranduil stopped what he was doing, and stared down at the top of his son's head. Legolas swallowed nervously.

"Ada? Have I made you angry?"

Thranduil sighed as he came around to kneel in front of his son. Gently taking Legolas's hands in his own, Thranduil spoke softly.

"Why didn't you come to me about this earlier?"

Legolas dropped his gaze and hunched his shoulders in embarrassment as he hesitantly replied.

"You have been so busy lately, that I didn't want to disturb you for something that I thought I could handle myself. I did the wrong thing, didn't I?"

Thranduil sighed as he kissed his son's hands before standing up to return to detangling his hair.

"Yes, I would say you did. No matter what I was doing, you should have come to me. I am never too busy to not help you with a problem, _ion nîn_. No matter how big or small it may seem to you, I want you to _never_ be worried about bringing it to me. And for the record, matters of appearance are _very_ important to me."

Thranduil had finally untangled Legolas's hair enough to start to combing it out. He went slowly and carefully, as there were still quite a few knots that had to be gently brushed out so as not to potentially damage the hair. Especially as Legolas's hair was so fine in texture.

After fighting for some time with a particularly large and stubborn knot, Thranduil could not help the growl of frustration that escaped him.

"So, how did your hair get into such a state? I don't believe that you ever actually told me."

Legolas visibly drooped.

"I didn't take out the braids Gelessil put in almost a week ago until tonight."

Thranduil blinked, and his hands momentarily stilled their actions.

"You had the same braids in for almost a week?"

Legolas nodded wordlessly as his father asked another question, still slightly in shock.

"How did you keep them neat for that long?"

"I was very careful with what I did at first. Then I stayed away from people as much as I could over the last few days so they would not see me."

Thranduil frowned thoughtfully as he remembered something that Legolas had said earlier, even as he continued to smooth out his son's hair.

"Has no one ever taught you to braid your own hair?"

Legolas went to shake his head, before remembering that he wasn't supposed to be moving it, and so answered verbally instead.

"No."

Thranduil wondered how on earth this had been allowed to happen, and made a mental note to have a talk with Gelessil when she got back and find out why Legolas hadn't been taught this important life skill.

In the meantime, he would just have to remedy the situation by teaching Legolas himself. While the king might wear his hair loose, that didn't mean he did not know how to braid. He'd been braiding for several millennia now, and had picked up a thing or two over the years.

"Would you like me to teach you how to properly braid and look after your hair so this doesn't happen again, _ion nîn_?"

Legolas's head shot up and he swung around to look at his father with excitement. Fortunately, Thranduil had anticipated something like this happening, and so had let go of the golden tresses so as not to accidently pull on the fine hairs and potentially hurt his son.

"Yes! Please Ada! I want to be able to braid my own hair!"

Legolas was so excited that he jumped up and embraced his father, excitement shining in his bright blue eyes. Thranduil hugged his son back before gently instructing him to sit down again, while he explained the best way to get knots out of hair. Legolas listened avidly, and then attempted to try the technique Thranduil had been using himself. Before long, under Thranduil's careful guidance, all the knots in the prince's hair were gone. Thranduil then explained to Legolas the finer techniques of braiding. He demonstrated these techniques on his own long hair, and then supervised the prince's attempts. Which weren't that bad. Especially considering he'd never braided his own hair before tonight.

It was going to be a very long night, Thranduil thought as he patiently instructed Legolas on what to do, but he did not mind. Appearances were very important to him. The fact that Legolas finally wanted to know how to properly look after his hair made the king very happy, and banished any trace of weariness Thranduil had previous had. He was more than willing to teach Legolas everything he knew about looking after hair. What was even better was that his son was finally willing to learn.

They were making progress.

Now, they just had to do something about the prince's habit of turning up in clothes that were either torn or covered in mud or both…

* * *

 ** _Poor Thranduil just cannot win._**

* * *

 **NOTES: Also, apparently in wood elf tradition (according to Plot Bunnies [yes, they now start with capital letters]), a parent teaches their child to braid their hair, whether it be the mother or the father. Thranduil was unaware of this ancient Silvan custom, hence why he hadn't done anything about it before.**

 **Gelessil is a supporting character and nanny to Legolas in my main story. She has featured briefly in a couple of early chapters, but will have a much more prominent role in an upcoming chapter.**

 **However, I do not know when that chapter will be posted. I am still stuck on trying to get Legolas home from Lothlórien…**

 **Reviews are loved and treasured, and may help me to bring Legolas home so we can continue the main story.**


	3. Extra Scenes

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.**

 **Thanks to Hawaiichick and Ne'ith5 for your reviews. This chapter's posting is devoted to you two.**

 **Unbeta-ed. I have proof read multiple times, but if you find any mistakes please politely point them out and I will fix them.**

 **This was originally part of the main story (chapter 20!) but I wanted to post something again, and decided this could stand alone. But it definitely takes place within the context of the main story.**

 ***Tissue Warning* you may laugh so hard that you cry. Reader discretion is advised.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Extra scenes: Trouble Magnet**

 _Ficlets of trouble finding the prince. All take place before chapter 12 in the main story, but Legolas and his friends are of age in all of them._

#1

Tirnel doubled over in laugher as Legolas stood there, glaring murderously at his so-called friend. The effect of his glare was somewhat spoiled by the fact that the woodland elf prince's front was currently completely covered in mud. It went from the top of his normally golden-blond head to the toes of his soft leather boots. Thick, black, sticky, stinky, _mud_. Mud that would take forever to come off, and cause him to be the laughing stock of the whole palace for the next several thousand years if anyone found out. And there was little hope that they wouldn't.

Legolas tried to continue to glare at his laughing companion, but mortification was starting to set in. The prince was painfully aware that he must look terrible and smell even worse. And he had no one but himself to blame for it. He was the one who'd decided that it would be a great idea to jump from rock to rock to cross the muddy stream, rather than walk an extra mile or so to the bridge. And it would have been fine too, if one of the rocks hadn't turned out to actually be a turtle. A turtle that did not appreciate being used as a stepping-stone. A turtle that moved rather rapidly for one of its kind as soon as the prince placed a foot on it. With his left foot in the air reaching for the next stone at the same time, Legolas had had nothing to balance on when the nice solid rock he'd planted his right foot on had suddenly moved. His arms had windmilled wildly for a few moments before he'd violently overbalanced, and landed face first on the muddy bank of the stream.

"Oh, Legolas, that was too good! You of all elves, overbalancing whilst crossing rocks and falling face-first into mud! Priceless!"

Legolas hid his embarrassment by giving Tirnel the death-glare he'd learnt from copying his father.

"At least I landed with style. And how was I supposed to know that one of the rocks was actually a turtle that would move as soon as I stepped on it? They looked exactly the same! You didn't see it either!"

The two young elves stared at each other for a few long moments, before they both broke down and started laughing hysterically. The situation was really too funny. Tirnel laughed so hard he soon had tears of mirth streaming down his face and had begun to hiccup. The elf leant over weakly and clutched his aching stomach with one arm as he tried to get his breath back, even as his shoulders were still shaking with mirth.

However, Tirnel's laugher turned into a shout of surprise when Legolas's full weight landed on him and bought him to the ground. This quickly turned into a cry of horror when some of the mud decorating the prince found its way onto _his_ clothes. Tirnel began struggling, and the two young elves rolled around on the ground wrestling each other, each one trying to get the upper hand without much success. They were just too evenly matched in their skill levels.

By this point, both had lost track of where exactly they were. They didn't realise they'd moved closer to the muddy banks of the stream until Tirnel landed on his back on the same stretch of mud that Legolas had fallen into. A very girlish shriek that Tirnel would forever deny came from him followed as he struggled to get out, and now it was Legolas's turn to laugh hysterically. Deciding that he now had nothing to lose as he was already muddy, Tirnel managed to stand up and grabbed hold of a hysterically laughing Legolas before chucking him face-first into the mud. However, Legolas grabbed hold of his hand at the last moment, and Tirnel suddenly found himself lying on his front in the mud with a still hysterical Legolas giggling away flat on his back beside him. He had no idea how that had happened, but was sure of one thing.

They were going to be in so much trouble.

* * *

A few hours later, two figures that might be elves (but it was hard to tell as they were currently covered in thick black mud from head to toe) tried to sneak into the bathhouse undetected. They made it through the palace grounds without being caught, and were almost at their goal when Galion suddenly wandered into their path. The head palace butler was whistling a soft tune to himself as he wandered along; but both those actions abruptly stopped when he caught sight of them. The butler's jaw dropped in shock, his eyes bulged slightly in disbelief, and he gaped like a fish out of water as he took in the less than regal appearance of the crown prince and his best friend. Finally, Galion found his voice.

"Ha, ha, ha. HA, HA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

And it wasn't long before the whole palace knew what had happened. Legolas and Tirnel did not live that incident down for many long years.

* * *

#2 _They are a fair bit younger in this one, probably not very far past their majorities._

Braigneth sighed in exasperation.

"Come on Leggie, it'll be fun. What's the worst that could happen?"

Legolas frowned at his friend.

"This is me we are talking about Braig, literally _anything_ can happen. Contrary to popular belief, I don't look for trouble. But, no matter what I do it, always seems to find me anyway. This however, _this_ is looking for trouble. Actually, this is _asking_ for trouble while saying pretty please at the same time."

The younger she-elf sighed as she gave Legolas her best pleading look.

"But it'll still be fun, Leggie. And if we're careful, no one will ever know. Seriously, like Galion will notice a few missing bottles of wine? He drinks so much himself that I highly doubt he'd bother to always keep a count of every bottle. We won't drink enough to get drunk, just enough so that we get buzzed. Once we start feeling funny, we'll stop drinking."

Now it was Legolas's turn to sigh as a range of emotions flickered across his face.

"But what if something does go wrong Braig? I don't want to spend the next age grounded, which is quite likely what will happen if my father ever finds out. I've only recently been allowed to start going out on real patrols. I can't afford to lose that privilege."

The extremely pretty brown-haired elf gave the prince a doe-eyed look.

"Please Leggie, do this for me? You know that my family never lets me drink wine. I want to know what it tastes like now that I'm of age. You've been drinking it practically since you were an elfling, I just want to know what it tastes like!"

As he really did want to do it, Legolas finally gave in.

"Fine, I'll do it. But if anything happens, you're explaining everything to the king."

* * *

The next morning found Legolas in the healing halls with a sprained ankle, three cracked ribs, a dislocated thumb, and a multitude of bruises and cuts alongside a bad headache. Braigneth fared only slightly better, with a broken wrist, many bruises over her whole body, a broken toe, and an even worse hangover then the one Legolas had.

It turns out trying to have a race through the treetops when you are drunk does not end well. Even if you are a wood elf, there is only so much the trees are willing to do to stop you from falling when you are that drunk.

Braigneth certainly wasn't in any position to explain things, but Thranduil did not even bother to ask the pair what had happened. Once he knew they weren't about to die and would be fine in time, he simply grounded them both for the next decade.

However, as soon as Legolas was healed, he managed to plead his way back onto patrol duty. But not until after he'd spent a month cleaning out the stables single-handedly as a substitute punishment. It turned out Thranduil was building up an immunity to that pleading look.

Braigneth however, was never again allowed to drink wine without a responsible elf being in the immediate vicinity. And she was never again left alone with Legolas when there was alcohol around.

* * *

#3 _Takes place between chapters 11 and 12._

"Tuchon! Your presence is required in the courtyard."

The healer sighed at his assistance's words, even as he left his desk and hurried towards the courtyard. He did not dare to think what may have happened that would require his services, especially with both Prince Legolas and King Thranduil having gone out on a diplomatic trip to Dale a week ago. With a recently very bad tempered king, a mischievous young prince who had a knack for landing himself in trouble, an over worked and over worried seneschal, and a dozen highly-trained and hyper-aware warriors, anything could have happened. Tuchon just hoped it wasn't too serious. Even though it had been a few decades ago now, the incident with the orc poison that had almost claimed Legolas's life was still far too fresh in the leading healers mind for comfort.

Tuchon was very happy to note, when he arrived in the courtyard, that there was no obvious blood or injuries to be seen on anyone. However, closer examination as he approached the group soon revealed that Legolas's left arm was bound up in a sling. Tuchon sighed to himself. Of course, it had to be the prince that got hurt. He really had an unfortunate gift for injuring himself.

Lagoron was the first to notice the healer, and nodded to him.

"Tuchon. Legolas hurt his arm a few days ago, and needs you to look at it."

Before the seneschal could say anymore, Legolas was protesting.

"It's fine, just a sprain! It'll be healed in no time."

Thranduil glared at his son as he rode up and dismounted his own horse.

"You will allow Tuchon to check you out, no arguments. I don't trust those human healers to have done a proper job, no matter how skilled they might be regarded to be. Now, not another word. You are going to the healing halls. Now."

There was a brief glaring match between father and son, which Thranduil won. Legolas grumbled but dismounted and allowed himself to be shepherded towards the healing halls by the king, though Thranduil looked like he would drag his son there by his ear if he had to. Tuchon followed them, just feeling very relieved that there was no poison to deal with this time.

Once they were in the halls, Thranduil made Legolas sit down while Tuchon gathered the supplies he needed to address the prince's injury. Removing the sling and gently unwrapping the bandage revealed a red and swollen wrist that made Thranduil's lips tighten and Legolas wince in pain. Tuchon's eyebrows rose as he visually examined the injury.

"How long ago did this happen?"

It was Thranduil who answered.

"About four days now."

Tuchon blinked at the injury.

"What did the human healers say was wrong?"

This time Legolas spoke.

"They said I had sprained it."

Tuchon reached out his hand and waited until Legolas slowly offered him the injured limb. Tuchon shook his head as he gently probed the injured area. He tried not to apply too much pressure, but Legolas still hissed and grit his teeth in pain as the healer examined the injury. Finally, the dark-haired elf straightened up, and addressed both Legolas and Thranduil as he sorted through his supplies.

"Good news is there's no broken bones. Bad news is, for an injury acquired four days ago, it should be well on its way to healing by now. However, it is not. Has anything else happened in the meantime that I should know about?"

Thranduil's lips tightened, and he glared at Legolas in disbelief.

"Tell me you didn't."

Legolas gave his father as innocent a look as he could muster with the pain he was in.

"Didn't do what?"

Thranduil pinched the bridge of his nose and forcibly took several deep breaths. Tuchon ignored him as he began applying a healing salve to the injured wrist that would hopefully help the swelling to go down. Finally, Legolas sighed.

"They wanted to see me shoot my bow. I'd promised them beforehand that I would show them later. I only did it a few times. Just enough so they could see that our reputation for having incredible aim is well-deserved."

Thranduil's face took on a slightly dangerous look, and Tuchon realised that there was about to be a heated argument between the two royals. Having no wish to be caught up in the middle of the two hot-tempered individuals, the head healer quickly asked Legolas a question.

"So, how did the initial injury happen? Even for you, this is impressive."

Thranduil tried to interrupt.

"Tuchon, stay out of this."

The healer glared at the king in annoyance.

"While you are in _my_ healing halls, your majesty, _I_ am in charge. You declared that yourself a long time ago. Now, I need to know what happened to cause this in the first place, so you will kindly shut up and let me do my job. Legolas?"

The king shut up and looked slightly stunned as he stood there with his arms crossed. Tuchon ignored him to focus on the injured wrist. He'd known Thranduil for too long for the King's temper to worry him. Besides, while you were in the healing halls, the healer was the boss. It did not matter even if you were the king, the healers had the authority. That was a very old rule.

The prince actually looked embarrassed, the healer noted as he began splintering the wrist to minimise movement while it healed. After what seemed like an age, Legolas spoke.

"I was showing some of the human children how to do cartwheels and handstands." Legolas mumbled grudgingly. "And it turns out there was a hole hidden in the grass we were doing it on that no one was aware of. My hand got caught in it, my arm twisted awkwardly as I overbalanced, and the result was a sprained wrist."

Tuchon blinked a few times as he processed that. Finally, he just shook his head.

"How do you manage it, Legolas?"

Legolas shrugged.

"I've told you before, I do not go looking for trouble. It just seems to find me."

Thranduil rolled his eyes in a most un-kingly way at that statement. He was till put out that Tuchon would not let him yell at his son for his stupidity whilst they were in the healing halls.

"You are the one who decided playing with the local children would be a better idea than helping me review our diplomatic contract."

"I was so helping you establish diplomatic ties. How is playing with the young mortal children not helping to strengthen our diplomatic relationship with the humans?"

Tuchon tuned out the royals bickering (it was not that distracting) as he finished splintering and wrapping up the prince's injury. Helping him into another sling, Tuchon spoke again.

"You can be very thankful that you are an elf. A mortal would have had several broken bones from an injury like that. You, however, have been lucky enough to get away with just a sprained wrist. It should heal within the next week or two, quicker with daily cold compresses and plenty of rest. However, you must rest it Legolas. No using it at all, or you will prolong the healing time _again_ or injure it worse. It has already started to heal, but has a long way to go thanks to your refusal to rest it enough before. You did a very good job injuring it."

Legolas's shoulders drooped.

"I didn't mean to, I swear. Why do these things keep happening to me?"

Tuchon was too busy putting his supplies away, and handing the prince some herbs to help with the pain levels, to bother replying to that. Besides, he didn't have an answer for the prince's question. Thranduil, however, did.

"You could try looking before you leap. That way you might not land in trouble. You could also try taking things slower. There is no need to rush everything. Elves do not need to rush; we have plenty of time to do whatever we want at a dignified pace. I've tried telling you that before, but you never listen."

Legolas sighed, and settled his arm in a more comfortable position in the sling, as the two of them left the healing halls.

"I just want to stop being injured all the time. It's starting to get frustrating."

Thranduil smiled at the desperate tone of his son's voice.

"Then take my advice. Look before you leap, and take things slower when there is no need to rush. With time, you might be able to stop being so accident prone. It would certainly do my health good if you stopped getting constantly injured."

Legolas sighed.

"I will try Ada. My wrist really hurts. I don't want this to happen again."

They were far enough away from the healing halls now that Thranduil felt it was safe to try and drum into his son the consequences of his own stupidity.

"It's your own fault it is not healing like it should be. The human healers _told_ you to rest it, and you still had to go out and _SHOOT ARROWS_..."

* * *

 ** _When I was young, I was very accident prone just like Legolas. However, as I got older I learnt to be careful. The way I see it, especially as Legolas goes through the LOTR movies without getting a scratch on him (though some have suggested he uses glamour magic to always look so good), means the same thing might have happened to him. As he got older, he grew tired of always landing in trouble and getting hurt, and so he learnt to be more careful. Much to Thranduil's relief._**

* * *

 **Braigneth – Wild/fierce: A young Silvan Elf who looks little and delicate, but will kick your ass without a second thought if provoked. She is a skilled warrior and a good friend of Legolas's. However, she cannot hold her alcohol.**

 **I based her characters' physical appearance on the female extra who is having her make-up done at 0.59 in the video, SILVAN ELVES - The Hobbit DOS BTS, on YouTube for anyone who is interested.**

* * *

 **Legolas is getting closer to the borders of Mirkwood as I speak, and so hopefully the main story will be updated again very soon. Reviews for this one are helping to energise the Plot Bunnies, so please review so we can have that reunion between Legolas and Thranduil that we are all waiting for!**


	4. Deleted scene from chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.**

 **Thankyou to aficionada-de-libros, Hawaiichick, and CofeeRanger who reviewed this story since last chapter! CoffeeRanger, I have responded to your review at the end of this chapter.**

 **This chapter is a deleted scene. During a final proof-read of chapter 18 of The Foundling Prince to prepare it for posting, this section of the story felt redundant and unnecessary. So, in order not to interrupt the flow of the main story, I have posted it here. It can still be regarded as taking place during chapter 18, which is also now up. Chronologically, it takes place before the orc attack.**

 **Enjoy this extra treat!**

* * *

 **Deleted scene from Chapter 18: Return to Mirkwood.**

The first week or so of traveling back to Mirkwood was as uneventful as Legolas's trip to Lothlórien with Mithrandir had been. They were in no rush, so the elves travelled by day and stopped by night, thereby giving the horses a chance to rest. As elves do not need much sleep, they spent most nights sharing stories around a campfire while they waited for the sun to rise again. In spite of already having spent several months with these warriors, Legolas found out things about them that he hadn't know before, and shared a few of his own stories in return. It was a lot of fun, and the elves all enjoyed it.

However, as they got closer to the edge of Mirkwood, the atmosphere started changing. A sober mood overtook the group without them even realising it, and there was not as much laughing as there had been before. On top of that, the weather had taken a turn for the worst not long after they'd passed The Gladden Fields. For the last few days it had been raining non-stop, making the going slow as the constant rain had made the paths they were following muddy and slippery.

Even though elves were generally very resistant to cold, they were all still damp and feeling more and more miserable the longer the rain continued. The horses were even more miserable and grumpy, and though they were all reluctant to go on, the elven-trained animals responded to their riders urging without hesitation. Legolas gratefully patted the neck of Malel, his mare, as she trudged through the mud without complaint. She had been a gift to him from Thranduil when she was just a foal; Legolas had raised and trained her himself. She was completely loyal to him, and one of the fastest horses in their herd. Her bloodlines traced back to Rohirin stock that Thranduil had originally traded for over a millennium ago.

Not many knew it, but the wood elves of Mirkwood had been breeding horses for centuries. They had a good number of them, and kept very sophisticated records of bloodlines and family trees so they wouldn't become inbred. Thranduil loved the animals, and though they had short lifespans, the king insisted on the elves breeding and training them. Though the Elvenking's horses did tend to live longer than those that the humans bred, and rarely got sick. Legolas had once asked his father why their horses were different. Thranduil had just smiled at him, muttered something about elf magic, and changed the subject.

As he thought about these things, Legolas noticed that darkness was closing in already. Though it was only late afternoon by his reckoning, it was becoming hard to see anything through the gloom and rain that shrouded the landscape like a thick fog. Even his keen elven sight could not see much more than the blurred shapes of rocks and the endless rain. The weather was apparently making Haldir uneasy, as it wasn't long before the Lothlórien elf rode up beside Legolas and voiced his concerns in a low voice so the others would not hear.

"Legolas, why can we not see through this rain? Bad weather has never hindered our sight before. I don't like it."

Legolas frowned, his eyes and ears never leaving off searching for danger in the dark and gloomy landscape surrounding them, even as he replied.

"We are very close to the borders of Mirkwood here. I suspect the dark magic that permeates much of the forest is at work. Even my senses feel dulled. I can't hear or see anything anymore than you can, which is a worry."

Haldir nodded slowly, looking very concerned.

"Do you think that we should make camp now, and hope that by tomorrow the weather has improved? I am not comfortable with going on when we are practically traveling blind. Anything could be out there, and we wouldn't see it."

Legolas nodded wordlessly as his eyes continued to scan the landscape.

"If we can find a suitable shelter, I agree that would be a good idea. However, right now I don't see any; and it would be foolish to stop in a place where there is no shelter or any form of defence. Our best bet is to ride on, and hope to find somewhere more suited to camping soon. This landscape can't go on forever. If I remember correctly from traveling this way with Mithrandir, we are only a few hours ride from the edge of the forest, and so should see some trees soon. Everyone, keep an eye open for some kind of shelter. If we can find somewhere suitable to camping, we are stopping early."

The elves all perked up when they heard Legolas's last words. They began keenly scanned the landscape around them, hope against hope that they would find some kind of shelter that they could spend the night in. Legolas kept an eye open for shelter as well, but also made sure to stay aware of his surroundings. He knew the other elves were keeping an eye open for danger, but Legolas was secretly concerned that living in the safety of Lothlórien for so long might mean that they did not pick up on trouble in time. There was no denying that they were all skilled fighters, but even the best could be defeated. Especially if they didn't see the attack coming as they weren't use to constant danger.

Because Lady Galadriel's realm was ridiculously safe when compared to where Legolas had grown up, and pretty much everywhere else he'd ever been. Legolas knew that most would expect him to envy the Galadhrim elves for that reason, but the prince found he felt more pity for them than anything else. It was true there was some resentment there, they had it _so_ easy compared to his people, and they didn't appear to realise or appreciate that. They seemed to just take it for granted that this was how things were, which did grate on the prince's nerves at times. But they were also naïve and at a disadvantage should their power ever fail. Legolas was of the same opinion as his father; it was better to rely on your own strength and skill to keep you safe then a magic ring that came about through trickery and lies.

The elves of Mirkwood might be looked down on by most of the Noldor and some of the Sindar because they had to constantly fight to keep their realm safe, and so had little time to pursue things not related to war. But, so long as the Woodland Realm had able-body warriors, they would be able to fight and defend what was theirs. No matter what happened, the Wood Elf Kingdom would not stand a chance of being taken by an enemy until every single warrior and her king had perished.

* * *

 **And so we finally come to the end of another main story arc of The Foundling Prince and the end of another deleted scene of The Foundling Prince-Outtakes. reviews to let me know what you thought of this chapter and the chapter in the main story would be loved!**

* * *

 _ **CoffeeRanger:** Thankyou for your combined review of both chapters! It made my day. _

_Writing about the elves hair was so much fun. I love my own medium-length hair (I am growing it long but it's literally taking years), but little ones are always so impatient to be somewhere else when you are trying to make them look presentable, especially when it comes to hair. I can't see elven children being any different in that regard. And Thranduil might pass on making Legolas wear the fancy clothes, but I could not see him letting his son go anywhere with messy hair! Just the thought of it would probably traumatise the king for life._

 _The glamour magic theory does make sense, doesn't it? It also makes sense that Thranduil would teach Legolas how to use it most effectively as part of his hair-and-appearance lessons. Though looking good without it would have also being a key component of those lessons. And it also makes sense that Legolas would then go on to annoy everyone who doesn't have that gift (humans, dwarves, hobbits, wizard?) with his constant flawless appearance. Never let it be said that my elves do not have a sense of humour. On that note..._

 _Braigneth is a typical Silvan wood elf; and they thrive on getting into mischief. In my world, the Silvan elves have a great sense of humour (unlike the grim and serious Noldor), and are not afraid to do outlandish things for fun, even the adults. Thranduil knows this, and that is why he is not too worried about Legolas and his shenanigans unless someone gets hurt. That is simply the way things are in Mirkwood among the wood elves. It is part of their culture, which the king accepted as his own a long time ago. Legolas is part Silvan, and even if he wasn't he has been raised in that society and belongs in it. Thranduil might groan and wish his son had decided to be a scribe (a quiet, calm and safe job), but ultimately he isn't about to stop some harmless fun._

 _Though he probably would stop anything that involves his wine supply unless he was directly involved in the consumption of it._


	5. Lagoron's day off

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.**

 **Shout-outs to Hawaiichick and CoffeeRanger for reviewing last chapter!**

 **I don't know what you would call this short drabble of self-indulgent nonsense. Ridiculous maybe? It's a peculiar mix of Middle Earth Location, Modern Technology, and OC that I don't even understand.**

 **IDEA: Lagoron on holiday. Because I could not get the picture of Lagoron wearing boardies and sunglasses whilst laying on the beach sunbathing out of my mind. And then this happened.**

* * *

 **Lagoron's day off**

Lagoron sighed happily as he relaxed back into his deck chair and put his brand-new designer sunglasses on. This was the life. Lying on a beach, soaking up the sun, and not having anything that demanded his immediate attention.

He could get used to this. He should try and make more days off a condition of his employment. He thought he could probably convict Thranduil to agree to it. After all, it would just be one day every few weeks. At least at first. Once he got Thranduil to agree to that, then he could gradually apply for days off more frequently. It was best to ease Thranduil into the idea gently to begin with.

After all, it wasn't like everything would go to hell if he wasn't there. He might organise the king's life, and, if he was absent for a long period of time, then maybe things would get tricky; but really.

What harm could the royal family and the rest of the palace come to in a few short hours?

Lagoron smiled as he closed his eyes and relaxed fully. The warm sun, the gentle lapping of the sea, the occasional cry of the gulls, and the strong smell of salt was making him feel very sleepy. And there was nothing to stop him dozing off and having a nap either.

This really was the life.

The sun was low in the sky by the time the elf slowly made his way back to his horse. He felt relaxed and happy after his lazy day spent napping on the beach, and decided he would definitely have to negotiate with Thranduil to do this more often. It had done wonders for his mental state.

It was a couple of hours ride back to the palace, and when Lagoron arrived the warriors guarding the gate seemed extremely happy to see him. The seneschal felt a vague sense of unease as he entered the outer courtyard, but dismissed it as soon as so one appeared in a flap about something. Everything had gone fine while he'd been gone, just like he'd known it would. He would tend to his horse and then…

"There you are. WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY?"

Lagoron jumped about a foot into the air and spun around to face his king. As soon as his eyes landed on the woodland ruler, they widened in shock and horror.

The king's normally impeccable robes were torn and filthy; and Lagoron knew instantly that they were a write off, completely ruined. Thranduil was also minus his usual crown, and wasn't even wearing a circlet to denote his royal status. His hair was somehow still immaculate in spite of his overall appearance; and while that fact should be funny, the murderous look on Thranduil's face only served to make the immaculate hair all the more terrifying. Lagoron swallowed nervously.

"It was my day off. You approved it yourself two days ago. Remember?"

Thranduil frowned, looking slightly off guard.

"I did?"

"Yes, you did. I even reminded you this morning before I left, and you told me to run along and enjoy myself. Thranduil, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your robes?"

King and seneschal eyed each other off for several tense moments, before Thranduil beckoned with his head for Lagoron to follow him.

"I think it is best that I show you."

Another elf ran to take Lagoron's horse as he followed his king into the palace. Lagoron suddenly felt very worried indeed.

He'd only been gone a few hours. What could have happened in so short a time?

The answer to at least part of his question came as soon as he stepped inside the audience room of the palace. While not as grand as the throne room, it was still an impressive place to be. At least, that was normally the case.

It looked like an army of orcs had rampaged through it, and Lagoron stared in absolute horror and disbelief at the chaos that surrounded them. Thranduil's crown was laying broken into bits, the flower vases were shattered and water was laying everywhere, and was that a piece of the king's robe stuck half-way up that wall?

After gaping at the room for a good few minutes, Lagoron turned towards Thranduil.

"My Lord, what on earth happened here?"

Thranduil looked grim.

"This isn't even half of it. Follow me."

Suddenly filled with an inexplicable dread, Lagoron reluctantly did as the king commanded, and was led further into the palace. As they went along, the carnage grew worse. Furniture was overturned and broken, ornaments were shattered into lots of little bits, and curtains were ripped and askew. Lagoron winced as the destruction went on and on. This was going to take forever to clean up.

Finally, they reached a doorway that had a little pile of metal tea tray, broken china tea cups, broken plates, spilt tea, milk and the crumbled remains of what might have been cake in a previous life lying in a sorrowful little heap in front of it. Lagoron was a patient elf (serving Oropher's family for most of Middle Earth's history tended to have that effect) but even he had his limits.

"Thranduil. What on earth has happened here? What caused all this?"

The king stopped and regarded Lagoron with a murderous look in his eyes. Lagoron gulped nervously. He didn't _think_ the king would kill him, but…

"There was an assassination attempt on my life earlier today."

Lagoron took exactly two seconds to process what that meant. When it sunk in, he looked at the king in horror.

"Are you okay? They didn't succeed?"

Thranduil rounded on the elf with a glare that would make even Sauron flee in fear of his life.

"I'm still here, aren't I? So of course THEY DIDN'T BLOODY WELL SUCCEED IN KILLING ME! And as for if I'm okay, they _ruined my favourite robes and crown_! Along with messing up my house, and putting Legolas and Galion into the healing halls! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!"

Lagoron was absolutely horrified.

"Are they okay? Where is this assassin? How was he allowed to get in here?"

Thranduil glared again, and there are no words in existence that could describe exactly what that glare was like. Lagoron gulped again, rooted to the spot as sudden fear seized hold of his chest and made it difficult to breath. In that moment, the seneschal thought Thranduil might actually draw his sword and kill him. The king looked riled up enough to potentially do something much worse. Then, as abruptly as it had come, the blood chilling expression disappeared form the king's face, leaving intense weariness and obvious shock in its wake as the king swayed on his feet, stared at Lagoron and whispered.

" _Where were you_?"

Lagoron darted forward just in time to catch Thranduil before the king's body could hit the ground as the later abruptly lost consciousness. Holding up the limp body of the king, Lagoron checked and was relieved to find Thranduil's pulse was strong and steady. Awkwardly picking up his friend, Lagoron called for help to get him to the healing halls, and to have someone go ahead and notify Tuchon that they were coming. Lagoron didn't think it was anything more serious than the efforts of stress and shock finally catching up with Thranduil, but you could never be too careful. Especially when there had apparently been an assassination attempt on the King's life earlier today.

When they arrived in the healing halls however, poor Lagoron was in for another shock.

As he entered the room, he became aware of a familiar voice singing very loudly and more than a little off-tune. As soon as he was sure that Thranduil was in good hands, Lagoron walked into the main part of the hall to see who was making the racket.

He was not prepared for what he saw.

Legolas was laying down on one of the beds, singing loudly and very out of tune. While the prince normally had a beautiful singing voice, right now he was not using it. Tunith was next to him, trying to make the elf drink something, but Legolas was clearly not cooperating.

As soon as the seneschal got closer, it became apparent why that was. The prince's eyes were glazed over, his left side was heavily bandaged, and he had a lovely purple bruise the size of an egg on his forehead. In spite of that, he was grinning and seemed to be in a great mood, a mood that only improved when he saw Lagoron.

"Laggie! There you are! Would you like to hear me sing?"

Without waiting for a reply, the prince launched into a song again, making Lagoron wince at the volume and slowly back away from the bed. As he did so, he noticed another bed in the room was occupied, and edging closer to it he recognised Galion. The butler was apparently unconscious, as his eyes were closed and he was not twitching, even with the noise Legolas was currently making.

Tunith finally succeeded in getting her charge to drink whatever it was she had made, and less than a minute later Legolas's voice became slurred as his eyes glazed over even more. He was soon sleeping peacefully, and both Tunith and Lagoron breathed sighs of relief.

Tunith then turned to Lagoron with a relieved expression.

"Finally, he's stopped singing. It was starting to get on my nerves. Hopefully when he wakes up, he won't remember any of this, as he'll be very embarrassed if he does. Concussions will do that to you, and he received a beautiful bump on his head."

"A concussion? That explains the bruise and very bad singing."

Tunith nodded as she checked on Galion, who had still not stirred.

"He was so out of it, that we had a difficult time trying to keep him still whilst we bandaged his side. He kept trying to help us by getting his hands in our way. In the end, Malfinnor had to hold his hands out of the way so we could actually deal with it."

"What happened to his side? And why is Galion unconscious?"

Once she was satisfied that both her patients were doing as well as possible, Tunith led Lagoron to the other side of the room.

"You heard about the assassination attempt on the King's life?"

The seneschal nodded.

"Yes. Did the assassin do all this?"

Tunith's lips twitched.

"I think it is safe to say he was both directly and indirectly responsible for everything you see here today. I'm not sure just what happened, but I am sure that it will make a great story one day. However, we'll have to wait for everyone to wake up to piece together just what happened."

* * *

What happened was this.

Thranduil was going about his usual business, dealing with people's complaints and petitions like he always did. He was assisted by Galion and Legolas, the latter of whom had been roped into helping with matters of court today. As his throne was currently undergoing some repairs, Thranduil had decided not to use the throne room, instead dealing with things in a smaller audience room located near the main entrance to the palace. He'd decided that less than an hour before he was due to see his first case of the day, so very few had been informed of the change of plan beyond a few guards, the prince, and Galion.

The assassin, a human envy from a small settlement that supposably wanted to establish trade routes with the elves of Mirkwood, had planned the whole murder out in excruciating detail. But he had had no idea that he wouldn't see the King in the throne room. His whole plan had apparently hinged on that one fact, so as soon as Legolas had led him into the smaller, more confined space of the audience room and left him there, the trouble had started. Rather foolishly, the assassin hadn't had any fake negotiations prepared to speak to the king about, and Thranduil had quickly gotten suspicious and told his guards to remove the man. Realising he only had one chance to do this, the assassin pulled a knife and dove for the king faster than you could blink. Before the guards could do anything, a wrestling match had somehow evolved between elven king and would-be-assassin. When the guards had tried to intervene, and apprehend the assassin, Thranduil's crown had ended up a casualty of the situation.

Well, that explained the ruined robes and smashed crown, Lagoron thought. However, that _did not_ explain how pieces of Thranduil's robes were decorating the walls. No one seemed to have an answer for how that had happened, and Lagoron decided his headache was bad enough without looking into it more. Anyway, back to the story at hand.

In spite of their combined efforts, the assassin had managed to escape their clutches, and had taken off running down the nearest hallway. He'd almost knocked over Legolas on his way through. The prince had immediately realised that the man was up to no good, though he didn't know what had just happened, and had given chase. The would-be-assassin had then proceeded to chuck every piece of furniture he could get his hands on between himself and the pursuing elf as he'd fled deeper into the palace. It was clear he'd had no idea where he was going, and was simply running.

That explained the broken furniture scattered over half the palace and the bruised and battered prince, Lagoron decided. However, that did not explain how the prince got stabbed, or how poor Galion got involved. That is possibly the best part of the story.

The assassin had eventually run into a dead end corridor with three doors leading off it, and Legolas had cornered him there. Not being able to open any of the doors as they appeared to be locked, the human had pulled out another knife (he'd lost the first one) and charged at Legolas. They had fought briefly, and the assassin had gotten a lucky stab in to the prince's side. It wasn't fatal for an elf, but the assassin hadn't known that, and had panicked when the wound started to bleed. The human had leapt up, and looked desperately around for an escape route as he'd backed away from the elf prince, who was clutching his bleeding side and staring at the resulting red on his hand in surprise. He was already more than a little concussed by this point, having had an untimely collision head-first with a wall on the way here.

Galion had been blissfully unaware of what was happening on the other side of the door leading to the kitchens as he'd opened it, carefully balancing the king's morning tea tray on one arm. As he was stooping down slightly in order to do that, his head was, therefore, at a perfect height to make contact with the assassin's head as the latter burst through the now open door. The heavy 'clunk' of the two heads meeting could clearly be heard by everyone within a hundred-metre radius at least, as could the crash that followed as the tea tray met the ground rather suddenly as both beings promptly lost consciousness.

By this point, Thranduil and several troupes of guards had arrived, and the unconscious assassin was carted off to a secure cell in the dungeon. Legolas and Galion were carted off to the healing halls, the latter not even aware of what had happened, and the former feeling very happy with life thanks to his concussion. The mess throughout the palace was left, as Thranduil had no idea how to organise a clean-up, and neither Lagoron nor Galion were available to do it for him.

And that was how Lagoron found things several hours later when he returned and the king collapsed from shock and stress.

Needless to say, he was not game to bring up having more days off with the king until over two decades later.

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 _For your enjoyment, here is the summary of what actually happened. This is the same summary I worked off whilst writing this piece of self-indulgent nonsense in the first place._

 _-A narrowly thwarted assassination attempt on Thranduil's life that ruined the king's fancy robes. (they were one of his favourites. But then, all the Elvenking's robes are his favourites, so it is a no-win situation.)_

 _-His crown was also accidently damaged by a guard when they initially tried to apprehend the assassin. As a result, Thranduil is currently planning murder. (Whether it is intended for the assassin or the guard is unclear at this point, perhaps both)._

 _-Half the palace looked like a whirlwind had gone through it as their initial attempts to arrest the assassin had failed, and they'd chased him for a while before he'd been caught. (The amount of broken or damaged furniture made Lagoron's eye twitch)_

 _-Legolas got stabbed in the side by the same assassin (non-fatally) when he cornered the attacker and ending up in the healing halls but,_

 _-not before he'd managed to have a hand in destroying half the furniture and giving himself some lovely bruises and a concussion as he'd chased the assassin. (Lagoron didn't know why they hadn't just shot him. All the guards had bows and arrows for crying out loud)_

 _-Galion is also in the healing halls, having somehow managed to be knocked unconscious (because why not?)._

 _And it all could have been avoided if Lagoron had just stayed home. Poor elf, I doubt he is having another holiday anytime soon. And as for Galion, he is probably going to need to retire after this._

 _Hmmm. Galion trying to retire. *Plot Bunnies start breeding*_

* * *

 **Also, if you ignore the sunglasses, boardies (which I couldn't resist adding) the deck chair (what? Lagoron likes his comfort) and the fact there is no way anyone can actually make it to any beach in just a few hours from Mirkwood, this can be considered canon to my main story. I find the thought of everything in Mirkwood going to hell because Lagoron isn't there to organise everyone's lives greatly amusing no matter what universe or situation it is.**

 **And poor innocent Galion being knocked unconscious at the end was the icing on the cake. That actually has to be my favourite part of this whole situation. Poor elf, there is a very good reason why he has a bit of a drinking problem.**

 **What was your favourite bit? Please review and let me know!**


	6. Abandoned paragraphs and sentences

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story** **is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.**

 **Thank you to AndurilofTolkien, CoffeeRanger, Hawaiichick, aficionada-de-libros, and Freeranger for reviewing last chapter! I'm glad that you all enjoyed a concussed Legolas. Due to the positive reception, I plan on writing him drunk one of these days, so I seriously recommend you keep an eye out for that!**

 **These are just a few random abandoned sentences and paragraphs that didn't make it into the final versions of the chapters. IT WILL NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE MAIN STORY. I have marked what chapter they would have appeared in at the beginning of each, and have included a few notes on why they were not used at the end.**

 **FPO: Foundling Prince Outtakes.**

 **TFP: The Foundling Prince.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Trouble Magnet - in FPO.**

"Galion!"

The butler sighed in resignation. He'd been hoping to steal some time for himself before the royal party got back, but no such luck. They were back earlier then expected, Lagoron wanted him, and he did not sound happy. Galion slowly put down the goblet of wine he'd been about to drink and headed towards the sound of Lagoron's voice. He did not dare to think what may have happened this time, especially with both Legolas and Thranduil having gone out on a diplomatic trip to Laketown. With a recently very bad tempered king, a prince who had a knack for landing himself in trouble, an over worked seneschal, and half-a-dozen trained warriors, anything could have happened.

 _This was in the first draft of the last section of that chapter. I ended up going in a slightly different direction with it._

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Thranduil is hurt - in TFP.**

Thranduil was floating along pleasantly on a grey sea of dumbness when the voice first registered in his consciousness. Thranduil frowned in irritation as he tried to block it out. Couldn't whoever it was see that he was perfectly happy and did not want to be disturbed? It was probably Lagoron wanting something again; well he could wait. The Elvenking did not currently know where he was, but it was quite comfortable and he had no intentions of listening to that pesky voice. Blocking it out of his head, the king drifted off again.

An undetermined amount of time later, he felt another presence brush against his consciousness and sighed in irritation. Why couldn't people just leave him alone? This new presence was different to the persistent voice however, and Thranduil frowned as he felt displeasure, sadness, and _love_ wash over him. That didn't feel right.

Opening his eyes, which up until how he hadn't realised had been closed, the elf frowned at his surroundings. He appeared to be suspended in mid-air, and all around him was empty grey nothingness. He could see nobody, and so didn't understand this presence he could feel.

 _This was the original idea, in which Thranduil would have met the spirit of his dead wife while unconscious and being persuaded by her to wake up for Legolas. I realised very quickly that would not work, and so abandoned that idea._

…

"Ada, hear my voice, and come back to me. Please."

Thranduil frowned. The voice couldn't be Lagoron, and there was no reason for the seneschal to call him that.

 _A random sentence that didn't work out._

…

Thranduil was floating along pleasantly on a grey sea of dumbness when the voice first registered in his consciousness. Thranduil frowned in irritation as he tried to block it out. Couldn't whoever it was see that he was perfectly happy and did not want to be disturbed? It was probably Lagoron wanting something again; well, he could wait. The Elvenking did not currently know where he was, but it was quite comfortable and peaceful, so he had no intentions of listening to that pesky voice.

"Ada, hear nin hu, a tul-back na nin." (Ada, hear my voice and come back to me)

Thranduil frowned. That wasn't Lagoron's voice, and there was no reason for the seneschal to call him father. So then who could it be?...

As Thranduil was struggling to remember who that voice belonged to, another one spoke.

"Legolas, you need to eat something. You will do your father no good half-starved."

Legolas? Now why did that name sound so familiar?

Thranduil abruptly realised who the soft voice that had been pestering him for hours belonged to. His son was named Legolas! His son was here! And he sounded so sad and upset. Why was he so upset? Thranduil tried to open his eyes to see his son, or to say something to Legolas, but to his frustration his body refused to cooperate with his wishes. Actually, come to think of it, he couldn't even feel his body.

Thranduil felt a jolt of panic with that realisation. That couldn't be a good sign.

Thranduil struggled to try and see beyond the grey mist surrounding him. Legolas was still talking, and as Thranduil concentrated on his voice he found the mist was slowly fading away.

 _A heavily revised idea for Thranduil regaining consciousness that I almost went with, but decided just didn't work._

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Return to Mirkwood - in TFP.**

Legolas was prepared to ride all night if he had to, as he was uncomfortably aware that they were very close to semi-permanent orc patrol route.

…

Finding places to camp where they could keep fairly dry became more and more difficult the longer the bad weather continued. They were now passing through large stretches of almost barren land, with no type of shelter available. There were just sharp rocks littering the landscape as far as one could see.

…

In spite of his earlier words to Haldir about finding shelter, Legolas didn't hold much confidence that they would find any around here. Which was why, when he saw the pine tree grove in the distance, he initially thought that his eyes had deceived him. It wouldn't be as impossible as one would think with the evil that was present right now. However, just as he was thinking these things, one of the escort party spoke.

"I see some trees just over there! Could we shelter under them do you think?"

Okay, it would seem those trees were indeed real then. Legolas nodded to the warrior.

"I see them. We can certainly go and check it out."

…

Legolas was fully aware and on his feet in less than a second, picking up his bow and standing in the right stance ready to fire it before he was even fully aware of what was happening. He might have been in a safe place for the last few months, but even that brief moment of peace could not undo centuries of training. The Lothlórien elves were a bit slower, but soon they too were alert and ready to fight.

 _These are just a few odd bits that didn't make it into the final product._

* * *

 **I have almost finished writing all the latter chapters of The Foundling Prince, and hope to start posting the War of the Ring and its Aftermath Arc soon. In the meantime, the Plot Bunnies are thriving with ideas generated from the enthusiasm they get from reviews!**


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